I'd contact Sunbeam,JoAnn....I use an electric blanket every night-all year round-oh the joys of virtually no iron in your bloodstream.

My wife is my electric blanket. Whew.

Heated mattress cover....much nicer.

I have a electric Sunbeam fleece throw on the bottom of my bed for Little Lil. I never leave it on all night. I turn it on before bed for 20 minutes than off as Lil and I go to bed. If its a really cold night I turn it on and off a few times thru the night (I'm not a good sleeper).

I have other Sunbeam full sized blankets and electric mattress warmers but no one in the house likes a heated bed. As suggested above..call Sunbeam perhaps they will send you a new one.

We use hot water bottles. So much safer.

You need an electric blanket in Florida? If you're cold when you sleep, have you tried using a duvet? Or just using a couple of blankets instead?

The safety suggestions I found recommend never putting anything on top of one and never allowing a pet to be on one (whether it's off or on). Their nails can open the wires' insulation and lead to fires.

I'd never use one, they're too dangerous for my liking. chloecat has the right idea.

I remember a thread about this exact thing from a few years ago. It apparently was a problem with some of the sunbeam brands. I do not have an electric blanket I have an electric throw. No problem with it, it turns off automatically after a short period of time.

The old blankets had a very poor track record with fires and the companies got in a lot of trouble over it. They had to improve safety so built in better safety features which now cause them to turn off or not work altogether (but have much better safety records). I’m no electrician but I’m guessing something is causing it to trip so it’s probably a good thing otherwise you might have a fire.

We bought all new ones and a heated mattress pad for the lake where we have no heat except a wood stove. Ironically, they wouldn’t work because it was too cold and we resorted to using the 40 year old safety hazard blanket.

I don't use an electric blanket but I can verify that it gets cold in northern Florida where I live. Just fyi we've been in the 30's and 40's quite often this year.

Body temp should be allowed to fall 1 to 2 degrees while sleeping. Warming a bed would keep me awake.

I use a down filled duvet. The thought of sleeping with an electric blanket on me would keep me awake all night. I would be terrified of it over heating and catching fire.

On occasion, I have pre-heated a bed with a heated mattress pad. I could never sleep with all that electricity running around my bed. Kinda scary. When I was young, my sister's electric blanket caught her bed on fire. I never forgot it!

We are having a weird warm wave... aka, it "only" cooled off in to the 50's last night. Consequently the house didn't cool down, and I woke up several times cause it was just to warm under my cover... a home made T-shirt quilt.

JoAnn, please call Sunbeam.

Moni

Since this is gardenweb may I suggest that electric heating blankets work fine for bottom heat when seed starting.

BTW, Sunbeam's number for bedding support, buried deep within their website is 1-(800) 892-7684.

Electric blankets are not recommended for pets due to their claws causing damage. Likewise, I would hesitate using one as a seed starter which requires something that is waterproof. Safety first, is my motto. There are safe alternatives intended for both purposes.

I must be the weird one. I think my parents gave me one decades ago which I never used. My bedroom window is never closed. I like my room to be freezing. I have a sheet, a Shabby chic blanket, a down comforter and if it hits zero ...another down comforter at my feet. I love an ice cold bed when I get in and I despise sleeping in summer even with the AC. Something is definitely wrong with me, I guess.

Oh Lily, we must be soulmates! Not sure why I ever moved to Florida LOL (although its been a cold winter here so far this year). I always kept my window open (a crack or more) until I met the (second) DH, then I had to change some of my habits. I could sleep in your house any night!

Only a little off topic - I like the car a/c pretty cold but then I put on the heated seat.

Fla can get in the teens, but I thrive in the heat and need my heated blanket when ever I get a chill. My blanket is over a yr old so I don't think Sunbean will do anything. It was so cold last month my electric bill doubled! Frost was on the ground and even some tiny flakes of snow. Fla is not what it used to be.

Have you tried sleeping with a duvet? Most people find they get too hot when using one.

I had that issue, contacted Sunbeam and they sent me new controller...

I just chatted with sunbeam, they want me to send the blanket in to have it checked. not sure if its under warrenty. I am not sending my blanket while its still winter here. I'll buy another one first before I have to wait a month for my blanket. I just know there will be no more sunbeams for me!

I'm still using a no-name, made in Canada, electric blanket that my mother gave me almost 50 years ago. I use it under the mattress cover. It eases my arthritic body better than a heating pad, which is too small and gets much too hot. I turn the blanket off after I've my muscles relax -- maybe 20 minutes.

I threw mine out after the flood. I wish I had another one....and I do like the old ones better because I have heard the new ones will turn themselves off after awhile. Same for heating pads. I use them when raising baby animals and had several but I think they got tossed after the flood too. I like the old ones for heating pads too. I always look for them at estate sales.

I too prefer the older blankets but I don't have one. I need my electric blanket to sleep, especially since my husband is gone. My current one is a Biddeford. It does shut off automatically after a while.

I can not stand to crawl into a cold bed! I love my electric mattress pad. I turn it on about 20 minutes before I get in but turn it off before going to sleep. My BIL had an electric blanket start burning...they can be dangerous...be careful.

I've never tried the mattress pad, I would think you would get too hot since you can't throw it off. Where do you get them and are they expensive? how to they compare to the blanket?

You can set the temp for the heated mattress pad so it doesn't get too hot. It is much more efficient than an electric blanket for the simple reason that heat rises. Much of the the heat of the electric blanket rises into the room, sometimes leaving a person with a cold mattress and sheets or warm and cold spots where it touches your body. A preheated bed with the heated mattress pad is warm all the way through...every layer. :-)

I'm surprised to see people in Florida use electric blankets. I'm in Canada. We get to -40 regularly in the winter. I have a Bay blanket, down duvet and a thick polyester blanket. And sometimes, that's too hot.

If you decide to go with the heated mattress pad be sure you can use it with your mattress type. I don't think you can use one with a foam mattress.

Dual controls are important if you have a SO. So often one is freezing and the other it too hot.

Debbie_Ab, not trying to speak for everyone but our climate on the Texas coast is similar to Florida. I think we can't tolerate any cold as well as people who live in cold climates can. It gets down to 55* and I am freezing. That would probably be a heat wave in the winter where you live. Also, I have always lived in old houses and they can be harder to heat. I lived for awhile in a building that we built originally to be a workshop. It was about as warm in the winter as a meat locker. I almost froze to death.

That is so true Marilyn! In summer when days get to near 100, I need a hoodie when we have a cool front coming in that lowers the temp to 70. We just are more used to heat than cold.

I am cold when it hits 70 degrees, I would be frost bitten at 55. When we lost power during our last storm I had no heat for 26 hrs. I had the fire place going, a warming throw (we have a generator) and I was wearing a beanie hat to sleep in. I am very cold natured. Brrrrrr

Do you have any reccommendations on a heated mattress pad?

It's funny but the temp is in the mid 70's today and I am sweating and feeling very uncomfortable. Once I get used to warm weather again, I will hardly notice it.

I'd recommend this one:

https://www.amazon.com/Biddeford-5301-9051128-100-Quilted-Electric-Mattress/dp/B00DN6TJQY/ref=lp_10671062011_1_18?s=bedbath&ie=UTF8&qid=1518826097&sr=1-18&th=1

Marilyn, 55F is 12C which isn't exactly a heat wave but it is sweater weather. lol I would even have my windows open in the house, to air out the house.

55F is summer. Anything over 70F is sweltering. :-)

My parents-in-laws lived in a cold winter climate. They had an electric blanket with dual controls; Separate controls for each half of the blanket. They loved theirs until one winter night, the controls were reversed. They crawled into bed and a half hour later, poppa feels a bit too warm and turns down his control; Momma gets more chill. and cranks up her control. Its 2 am when the both awaken and complain about the action of their half of the blanket, and then they discover the switched controls. LOL.

I keep warm the old fashioned way with lots of blankets which one or two are usually thrown back during the night. Right now I am laying here listening to the coyotes howling. I keep my furnace at 68 day and night.

Hi JoAnn,

I've used electric blankets since 1971 when my first apartment did not have a heat register in the bedroom. Love them! I keep my bedroom cool all year, and only 'heat' the area needed. Saves a ton of money in the winter! (I live way up north).

My current model is a Sealy....I see Walmart has the same model only it is now called Biddeford (perhaps they bought out Sealy?). The control sits upright and is very easy to read, and has automatic shut off (I believe after 10 hours). The blanket is washable.

PS....have never had any problems with any electric blanket I've owned....

We have a heated mattress pad and love it. I turn it on a while before I go to bed and it is heavenly to crawl into a nice warm bed. They are on sale often at Kohl’s. I think I gave around $50.00 for ours. I wash ours in the Spring and hang it out to dry...

Marilyn, Doug and Kali went to an event at NRG today, said the sun was shining and in the 70’s, cold and gray at home 45 minutes away!!